Ordinary School Life 2: Extraordinary Friendship
by Rianna Lauren
Summary: Sequel to Ordinary School Life. Gar & Tara, Rae & Malchior, Roy is still crushing on Jade. The problem is, the two couples won't stay for long, and Jade is NOT one of the good guys. BBRae, RoyJade, and others.
1. Meet Garth, Roy, and Jade

**Ordinary School Life 2: Extraordinary Friendship**

_Garfield's POV_

Summer vacation just ended a few days ago, and we just left the freshmen stage. We are now sophomores, at the second stage of high school.

The weather was sunny, as usual. I walked in with my girlfriend, Tara, as my other friends walked in as well.

* * *

_Normal POV_

Gar, Vic, and Richard are waiting for the Tara, Karen, and Kory, while Jenny and Wally haven't been seen by any of them, and so were Rachel and Malchior.

"We should go to that beach again next summer," Tara giggled.

"Yeah, but not in the same bikinis," Karen complained.

"Why not?" Kory chuckled.

"I had enough of Richard staring at you for hours," Karen rolled her eyes.

Richard met up with the girls with two boys following, one was red-headed and the other has black hair.

"Hey ladies," Richard greeted. "This is Roy Harper and Garth, I'm sure you all know them."

"Oh yeah," Kory recalled. "The archer _and_ the swimmer. Nice to meet you guys."

"Likewise," Roy smiled. "Kory, if I'm correct?"

"Richard must've told you," Kory confirmed.

"So what's up with you guys?" Tara asked.

"Nothing much, actually," Garth replied. "Roy and I met Gar, Vic, and Richard a few weeks ago at the mall. So we just chatted along and… just decided to get to know you guys."

"Well, I'm Karen Beecher," Karen introduced herself. "This is…"

"Tara Markov and Kory Anders," Garth smirked.

"Wow," Karen replied in astonishment.

"The boys must've talked a lot," Tara whispered to Kory as she chuckled.

"So, anyone on math class?" Roy asked.

"Richard and I are on math," Kory nodded.

"Me too," Karen followed.

"Me three, actually," Gar responded.

"Cool, let's go," Richard said and waved to the others. "See you guys later."

Math class is as boring as it could be. But today, for Roy, math class is just _perfect_.

"Wow," Richard whispered to Kory. "Roy's drooling over a girl…"

Kory looked at the direction and saw a familiar girl. She had black long hair and green jade eyes.

"That's Jade from the wrestling class," Kory whispered back. "He has a crush over her since last year."

Richard put up an "oh" face, which was usually a Kory thing, and leaned back to his original position.

"We never had a class with Jade before, right?" Karen asked Kory.

"Nope," Kory shook her head.

"Well I'm warning ya," Karen said. "She's not as innocent as she was last year. I heard she has been friends with Katie last summer."

"Creepy," Kory shuddered.

The bell rang and the math class ended. Karen got up, followed by Richard and Kory. The other two got out from class, and when Kory walked past the door, she bumped to Jade and dropped all her books.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Kory quickly apologized. "I'm very sorry."

"You better be," Jade got up and replied bitterly. "You blind or something?"

With a huff, Jade walked out the door. Roy, who was still inside, saw the whole scene and helped Kory up.

"And _you_ have a crush on _her_," Kory muttered.

"And _how_ the hell did _you_ know that?" Roy asked.

"It's obvious, Captain Duh," Kory frowned. They both walked out and met up with Karen and Richard.

"What took you so long?" Richard asked.

"Bumped to Jade," she answered shortly. "Let's go."

* * *

Spanish class. Garth took a class with Tara and Karen, and met up with Mas and Menos. And at lunchtime, Mas and Menos ended up at the table with the whole group, including Roy and Garth.

"Haven't seen you around this morning, Rae," Gar greeted on the table while munching his tofu.

"Rae" gave him a cold glare.

"Rae-chel," Gar fixed it.

"Yeah, we've been on literature and science, and then the library," Malchior replied.

Silence.

"So… anyone got gossip?" Jenny asked, sitting beside Wally.

"Well, unless everyone knows that Roy got a major crush on Jade," Kory spoke up. "I guess there's nothing new."

"Hey," Roy complained. "Why are you _so_ interested on what I think about her?"

"Cause she's one of Katie's "gang" now," Kory answered.

"I don't care about _that_," Roy frowned.

"Okay dudes, let's…" Vic cut in. "Change the topic."

"Nothing new," Tara shrugged. "Even _cheerleading_ is getting boring sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Kory sighed.

"Anyone wanna hang out after school?" Wally asked suddenly.

There were "Yeah", "Sure," and "Why not" all over the table, not to mention a "Si" from Mas and Menos.

"Anyone can give me a ride?" Roy and Garth asked, almost at the same time.

"You can both go with me and Karen," Vic smiled. "Mas, Menos, wanna join?"

The two tiny boys nodded.

"I don't think Rachel and I can go," Malchior said. "My car is being repaired and Rachel's is used by her mom."

"Hey, I can give you both a ride," Gar spoke suddenly. Tara gave him a strange look, but accepted it anyway.

"That'll be nice," Rachel smiled. Malchior did the same thing that Tara did, but in the end, he went with it anyway.

"Cool. Jump City mall this afternoon," Wally smiled. "Jenny and I will see you there."

* * *

Classes by classes went, until the end-of-the-school bell finally rang. Wally and Jenny arrived there first, followed by Richard and Kory on Rich's R-Cycle, and then Vic, Karen, Roy, Garth, and the Spanish twins arrived with Vic's car. Tara, Gar, Rachel, and Maldchior arrived last.

Gar stopped in front of the main gate. "You guys go in first; I'll park this car in the basement and catch up with you."

The three nodded and got out from the car as Gar drove it to the basement. The whole gang – excluding Gar – met up in a café. Just then, Rachel stopped.

"What's wrong, hun?" Malchior turned around.

"I left my cell phone in the car," she muttered while still looking for the device in her purse, but no luck finding it anyway. "Damn it."

"I'll take it for you," Malchior started, but then Rachel stopped him.

"No, sweetie," Rachel interrupted. "It's okay, I'll go get it."

"Be careful," Malchior smiled as Rachel took the elevator to the basement. She arrived at the basement, and when the elevator door opened, Gar stood in front of it.

"Rachel?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Hey Gar," Rachel greeted him. "I left my cell phone in your car, let me borrow the key for a while. You go up first."

"No wait," Gar interrupted. "I'll take it for you."

Rachel smiled and muttered a quick thanks, but a small part of her subconscious wondered, "Why did she say no to Malchior, but said yes to Garfield?"

After a few minutes, Gar came back with her cell phone on his grab. "Here," he smiled.

"Thank you," she smiled back. Rachel pressed the elevator button and the door opened. Gar and Rachel stepped in, and the door closed.

They were supposed to go 5 floors upwards, but suddenly, the elevator shook greatly and they both fell to the floor.

"What the…?" Gar muttered.

The elevator shrieked loudly, and suddenly stopped. Rachel looked at the screen. They were still on the second floor.

"What happened?" Gar asked, more to himself.

Rachel tried to open the door, but she couldn't. She was starting to panic. She was about to search for an emergency button when the lights suddenly went out. Her hands blindly pushed on any buttons, but nothing happened. The door didn't open, the elevator didn't move, and there was absolutely _no_ emergency button.

"Crap."


	2. Is Everything Okay?

Rachel and Gar each sat on one corner of the elevator.

"Aw dude," Gar whined. "How long are we going to _stay_ here?"

"My cell phone can't get any signal," Rachel checked.

"Neither can mine," Gar sighed.

10 minutes passed without anyone saying anything in that elevator.

"So… how are you doing with Tara?" Rachel asked.

"Excuse me?" Gar asked back, obviously caught off guard.

"I just wanna make sure you two are… doing fine," Rachel muttered the last part.

"We're cool, just… nothing new is happening recently," Gar shrugged. "What about you and Malchior?"

"Like you," Rachel responded. "Doing good, but nothing new these days."

"That's good," Gar nodded.

Ten seconds of silence.

"I'm just making sure that Tara keeps her promise," Rachel sighed as she moved to sit next to Gar.

"She's keeping her promise well," Gar smiled, a little sadly.

"That's good," Rachel said, quoting Gar's words.

"Why did you do it?" Gar asked.

"Do what?"

"Make Tara promise like that, to keep me safe and always make me happy as his boyfriend…" Gar explained. "Why did you say those things?"

Rachel was at loss of words. She thought intensely how to answer, but her reply came out simple.

"I just don't want anyone else to… you know… get hurt in case she does something wrong again," Rachel answered, as her body unconsciously leaned closer to Gar.

"Really, Rae?" Gar asked, leaning closer as well. Rachel didn't realize at the use of the word "Rae", and now their faces were only a few inches apart. "Is that all?"

Interrupting their moment, the lights suddenly came back to life, and there was another loud screeching voice. Rachel and Gar slightly jumped back, both because of the shock of the sudden light, and the shock of realizing what they were doing.

There was a smooth "whoosh" as the elevator climbed up, and finally they both arrived at the fifth floor. The door opened and they stepped out from the elevator, gaining the attention of the whole gang in the café. Both Gar and Rachel wore blank expressions on their faces.

"Gar, sweetie," Tara ran up to him. "What took you so long?"

"We were all worried when we couldn't reach your phones," Malchior said, catching up with Tara.

"We were stuck in the elevator," Gar replied bluntly.

"You were?" Malchior asked, pretending to be a little worried for Gar.

"We reached the second floor and all of the sudden," Rachel explained. "The elevator just… stopped."

"You guys are okay though, right?" Tara asked.

"Yeah, we're good," Gar smiled.

Gar and Tara walked off to their table, and Rachel was about to follow them. But she was stopped when Malchior suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Rachel," he started. "Please be honest with me on this one."

"On what?"

Malchior sighed. "Did… anything happen when you were in the elevator?"

Rachel's heart skipped a beat. They had a small talk, but nothing happened…

Right?

Right.

"Nothing happened," Rachel replied in a sweet voice. "And I'm being completely honest to you."

"Really?"

"Truly."

Malchior smiled. "Alright, let's go."

The four of them sat back down, when a high pitched voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

"My, my," the voice mocked. "If it isn't my old Richie and his gang."

Kory gasped and turned around only to shout, "Katie!"

Katie laughed and shook her head. "You _do _remember me, Kory."

"What do you want?" Richard asked impatiently.

"I'm not here to see _you_, Richie," Katie rolled her eyes. "I was just taking a little walk with my girls."

As if on cue, Koma and Jade walked right in to the scene, holding shopping bags. Koma looked at her sister and shook her head.

"Seeing you at home is sickening enough," she said. "Now here?"

Kory sent a glare to her sister, not busy looking for any words to reply her sister. The others just stared in suspense, but not Roy. Roy was rather staring one of the girls with… wonder.

"Let's go, girls," Katie said as she walked away. "We really don't need any interruption on our perfect day."

"Right," Koma replied and followed Katie. Strangely, Jade wasn't moving. Instead, she was staring back at the boy who stared at her, also with wonder. That is, until Koma hit her with her elbow.

"Jade…" Koma growled.

Jade mumbled a quick "huh?" as Koma dragged her to the elevator.

The whole group was silent and watched the three girls walk away.

Jenny chuckled. "What happened to Jade?"

"Maybe the similar thing that happened to Roy," Garth pointed at the boy. He was still staring at the elevator where the three girls had gone into.

Richard shook his head and waved his hand in front of Roy's face. "Earth to Roy," Richard called. Nothing happened. So, he splashed Roy's face with water, straight from his cup.

Roy shrieked and blinked a few times. "What was _that_ for?" he shouted. The whole table laughed and Roy was still dumbfounded.

"You were staring at Jade…_again_," Karen said between laughs.

"I…was?" he asked in confusion.

"Duh," Kory replied. "I still don't get what you see in her, though."

"I don't know," he answered. "She's just… pretty in her own way."

"And she's just as bad as Katie," Kory complained. "Snap out of it, Roy! You're not supposed to like her, she's a… a… ugh! I don't know what she is! She's selfish and egoistic and-"

Richard softly grabbed Kory's arm and calmed her down. "Kory, please…just breathe," he said slowly.

"I don't know why you worry so much about it," Roy shot back. "She's not all that bad, I know she's-"

"Roy," Richard warned him. "Stop."

Roy glared at him but stopped anyway.

Their coffee orders came and they were finished just hanging with each other by nighttime. They went home and everything was perfectly normal... Except for Rachel.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home," she called out.

"Oh, you're here," Arella smiled. "How was your day, honey?"

"Fine," she replied flatly.

"Well, you may want to take some rest now," Arella suggested. "It's already late."

Rachel just nodded and went to her room. She changed her clothes and flopped straight to her bed…

_He smiled that smile that always makes her melt. "Can you please help me?"_

…

"_Stop following me!" he shouted at her. She frowned, but followed him anyway. "Gar…"_

…

"_You've betrayed me!" she yelled as she slapped him. "You never loved me, you only used me all along!"_

…

_She gasped as she realized what was about to happen. "TARA!" Gar shouted._


	3. Rachel's Problem

The next day, Rachel and the others went through lessons as usual. At lunch, they had a little discussion.

"…and that's why six is scared of seven!" Gar finished his joke as he laughed stupidly. The others groaned while Tara chuckled lightly. "Nice try, Gar," she said.

"So," Karen started. "What's up with you guys?"

"Oh, I got news," Gar started. "A cookie went to the doctor last night and he said he-"

"Gar," everyone on the table groaned.

"Okay fine, no more jokes!" he held his hand up in defense.

"Anyone got _serious_ news?" Vic asked in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, I need your opinion in my next decision," Jenny suddenly said.

"What decision?" Kory asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"She's gonna join the journalistic club," Wally said.

"You mean that club that writes the school's weekly newsletter?" Karen asked in an excited tone.

"Yes, that's the one," Jenny smiled.

"Good for you," Vic responded.

"We completely support you, Jenny," Richard nodded.

"Thanks, you guys."

The bell rang and they all got up from their seats, ready to go to class. But Kory didn't go right away. She noticed something different about Rachel. She was quiet the whole time, she didn't look like she was paying attention to anything they were discussing, and she had a confused and frightened look on her face.

"Rachel," Kory called out.

Rachel blinked a few times before responding, "Yeah?"

"Is…everything okay?"

"Of course," she shrugged.

"You were really quiet back there," Kory pointed to the cafeteria table.

"What, you were expecting me to babble wildly like Karen?" Rachel asked in an annoyed tone.

"Heard that!" Karen shouted from the distance.

"Sorry!" Kory shouted back. "Not that, Rachel. You were really… pale… paler than usual."

Rachel gave up. She really couldn't win from that girl.

"Okay fine, you got me," Rachel sighed.

"Good," Kory nodded. "Now explain."

"I had a little dream last night. It was really confusing and I'm frightened every time I remember about it," she whispered.

"What was it about?"

"I'm not really sure. There were… conflicts… yeah, that's it. Conflicts."

"Between whom?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel shook her head. "But I saw Tara, Gar, Malchior… and me." Rachel's face turned paler. Kory gave her a worried look, but decided to comfort her.

"It's just a dream, right?" Kory smiled. "Nothing is gonna happen."

"Thanks Kor," she smiled back. "Let's go, or we'll be late for class."

* * *

Jenny and Wally entered the room, and it looked like the whole journalistic club was waiting for Jenny.

"Good luck, baby," Wally whispered and gave her a quick peck on her cheek. Jenny nodded and entered the room.

"Hi everyone," Jenny greeted nervously.

"Jenny, huh? You must be one of Kory's friends," a female voice called out. Jenny turned to see the familiar voice.

"Jade…?" she muttered.

"Oh I'm sorry," Jade made a "sorry" face. "My secretary must've forgotten to tell you that _I'm_ the leader of the club."

Jenny froze on her position, almost unable to move. "What? Why are you… How did you…?" she stuttered.

"Enough chitchats, everyone," Jade shouted, pretending that she didn't hear what Jenny was stuttering about. "Time to get working. We need hot news on the papers. Fresh from the oven! I give all of you one week to do your research."

"You know what?" Jenny said and headed to the door. "Forget it. I'm moving to another club."

"You can't," Jade said with a smirk. "You have to stay on one club for six months. After that, you may move." Jade handed her a sheet of paper where the school club rules are written in it. Jenny read it carefully and concluded that she was stuck on journalistic. For six months…with Jade.

"Great," Jenny muttered.

"So here's your first assignment, Jenny," Jade commanded. "I'm going to write news about the school cafeteria's new menu. I need you to interview the cafeteria lady about this new meal and report it to me next week."

Jenny cocked an eyebrow, "That's it?"

"Well, since you're a newbie," Jade sighed. "That's all you gotta do."

Jenny nodded and headed to her seat, sketching up a plan for her work in journalistic club.

"Kory is _so_ going to explode when she found out," Jade muttered, referring to Jade as her club leader.

* * *

Rachel went home after school and entered her house. She opened the door, but it was dark and quiet inside.

"Mom, I'm home," she called out. No answer. _Now_ she was very concerned. She settled down her bag and called her again. Shouting, this time.

"Mom?" Rachel shouted, checking every possible place where her mom might have been.

Realizing that shouting around wasn't helping, she decided to listen to the silence and see what she could find… A muffled voice was heard from the basement, very soft, that she couldn't hear if she didn't listen carefully.

Rachel ran to the basement and unlocked the door. She turned on the lights to find her mom lying on the floor, tied up and gagged.

"Mom!" Rachel gasped. She ran to her side and untied the ropes, and pulled off the gag.

"Honey, are you alright?" Arella asked with concern.

"I should be asking _you_ mom," Rachel said in a worried tone. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"You haven't seen him around?" Arella asked, her eyes darting about the room.

Rachel hesitantly shook her head. "I don't even know who you're talking about," she replied.

"He's back," Arella whispered.

"…W-what?"

"He's here," Arella said in a shaking voice. "He came home."

Rachel didn't need her mother to tell her. She knew who it was.

"Hello, Rachel," a deep voice called behind her.

Bracing herself, Rachel narrowed her eyes and turned around. It was none other than her father…

Scath.

"It's so good to see you again."


	4. Daddy is Back

"Jade is your WHAT?" Kory screamed through the phone.

"I-I had no idea, I _swear_," Jenny stuttered. "I wish I could do something about it, Kory, but I couldn't do anything about it."

Kory groaned in frustration. "Why didn't you search anything about that leader thing before you joined in?"

"I'm _sorry_," she muttered.

"It's alright, Jenny," Kory sighed. "I shouldn't be mad over something so little, either. Forgive me."

"You know what? Let's forget about this whole Jade thing and get some sleep," Jenny said.

"You're right," Kory said, smiling slightly. "We should get some rest. Good night, Jenny."

"Night, Kor," Jenny replied and hung up the phone. She sighed a little and threw herself on her bed.

"Let's hope Roy didn't get the news," Jenny mumbled before she switched off the lights and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Arella stood up from the basement's floor and walked up to Scath.

"What are you doing here?" she asked through her gritted teeth.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Scath sneered.

Arella immediately slapped him, the sound reverberating around the concrete basement. "You're talking to the new owner of this house, mister! You're not welcome here!" Arella shouted. "You ruined my life and you hurt my daughter! Did you think I would have forgotten what you'd done to us?"

"I never expected you to forget, woman," Scath said as he gripped her wrists. "But if you try to kick me out, I assure you, you'll suffer more than you could ever imagine."

Rachel forcefully tore Scath away from Arella. "Don't you _dare_ lay a hand on my mother," Rachel growled.

"Is that a threat, young lady?" Scath chuckled. "Well, you're not very good at doing it."

"You're a madman," Rachel scowled. "How did you escape from jail?"

"I'm here to sell this old junk you're living in," Scath answered, referring to Arella's house. "But then I found out I'm no longer the owner of this property. The house's certificate has _her _name written on it, so I couldn't directly sell it to the markets. I broke in and Arella tried to call the police, so I tied her up and hid her in the basement."

"You can't throw us out!" Arella shouted as she held Rachel's hand. "This is _my_ house, and I want you _out _of here."

"I warned you about that," Scath muttered, eyes glinting dangerously. Pulling out a pocketknife, he grabbed Arella's arm, and pulled her closer. Arella whimpered as he brought the knife to her wrist.

"No!" Rachel gasped and stepped closer to her mother. Scath noticed her move and swiftly glided the knife over Arella's wrist. Blood flowed out smoothly from the cut. Arella winced in pain, but didn't let out a sound

"One more step and your mom will lose her hand," Scath warned.

"Please, don't…" Rachel pleaded. "Let her go… Please."

Scath huffed then threw Arella to the floor.

"Give me your cell phone," Scath demanded, stepping towards Rachel.

"W-what?" Rachel stuttered.

"Cell phone," Scath repeated. "I took your mother's, now I just need yours. I can't take the risk of you two calling the police, can I?"

Rachel frowned but obediently handed him her cell phone. She could see Arella shaking her head in disagreement from the corner of her eye, but she pretended not to see her.

Scath smirked in satisfaction. "I'm taking your room, Arella. You don't have to move, if you want."

"I'd rather die than sleep in a room with _you_," Arella whispered.

With one more glare, Scath left the basement. Immediately, Rachel ran to Arella's side.

"You okay, mom?" Rachel asked, her voice audibly trembling though she struggled to sound calm.

"It hurts a bit, but I'll be fine," Arella replied to her daughter, smiling sadly.

Rachel didn't believe her for a second. Tearing off a part of her shirt, Rachel wrapped it around Arella's wound.

"Thanks dear," Arella said as Rachel helped her to stand up. "Can I sleep in your room for the night, hun?"

"Of course," Rachel said.

Emerging from the dark basement, Rachel led the way, heading for the stairs that led to her room.

"Go to sleep, Rachel," Arella said as she gave Rachel a quick hug. "I'll be upstairs in a minute."

"But what if…"

"I'll be fine," Arella said as she smiled. "I promise."

Rachel hesitantly nodded and went to her room. She locked the door and sat on her bed.

'He's back…' she thought. 'After all these years… What do I do now?'

It wasn't long until Rachel heard the sound of sirens from outside the house. She got up from her bed and peeked from her window. From there, she saw about three to five police cars parked in front of her house.

"Police," she muttered. She knew this was her only chance. She got out from the room and quickly ran downstairs. But suddenly, a strong hand gripped her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Don't even _think_ about it," Scath whispered. "My knife was just a start. I can kill your mother _anytime I want_."

Knowing she had just lost her chance, Rachel stared longingly at the half-opened front door. But she bit her lower lip and replied, "Yes…father."

Scath released her and patted her shoulder. "Good girl," he said and disappeared.

Rachel continued walking down her path until she reached the front door. Arella was busy talking with the police officer. Rachel softly grabbed Arella's shoulder.

"Don't…" she whispered sadly.

Arella sighed softly, quickly catching her point. Good thing the police officer didn't hear Rachel's whisper.

"I'm sorry officer," Arella said. "I haven't seen him around."

"Are you sure ma'am?" he asked.

"I'm positive," Arella nodded. "But I will contact you if I find any clues."

"Please stay on guard, ma'am. He could be anywhere," the officer said as he observed the house suspiciously. "Remember to call us if you find anything strange."

"I will, sir," Arella smiled wanly.

"Well, I guess we better be going now," he said then walked towards his car. "Thank you and good night, ma'am."

"Good night, officer," Arella said and closed the door.

"Mom…" Rachel whimpered and hugged Arella.

"It's alright, Rachel," Arella mumbled. "We'll find a way."

* * *

"NO. WAY."

"Yes way," Kory nodded and pulled out a notebook from her locker. "Jade is the journal club's leader."

"And you didn't move to another club?" Karen asked Jenny.

"I couldn't," she shrugged. "I have to stay there for six month or something."

"Six months with Jade?" Karen laughed. "What a torture."

"I know," Jenny rolled her eyes and closed her locker's door. "Horrible."

"Hey Rae, you're pretty quiet," Karen said and walked towards her. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"No," she answered simply and locked her locker.

"You know, you can always tell us if there's anything wrong," Jenny said in a comforting tone.

"I'm okay guys, I really am," Rachel sighed.

The bell rang as students rushed in to their classes, but the three friends still stood at the lockers, staring at Rachel.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" Rachel pleaded.

"Fine," Karen shrugged. "Now let's get back to class."

"Great, I'm in science with Jade," Kory muttered.

"Miss leader-of-the-journal-club?" Karen chuckled. "Lucky you."

The girls walked away and headed for their classes. Suddenly, Roy came out from the sides of the lockers.

"Journal club?"


	5. A Spontaneous Talk

Richard, Kory, Gar, Vic, and Rachel were hanging out on their favorite pizza place after school. They were discussing about Rachel and her family problems.

"…they divorced when I was ten," Rachel muttered as she stared at her pizza. "I don't know how he got out from jail but now he's back."

Richard furrowed his brows worriedly. "Why was he arrested?"

"And why did your parents separate ?" Kory added.

"He had been abusive to my mother and me," Rachel responded. "Though he worked in an office, he never used the money for his family – just for him."

"How was he abusive?" Richard asked again.

"He'd beat my mother up if dinner wasn't ready before he got back home," Rachel told them. "Even though we never got enough food to cook for ourselves. He never gave us money to buy any food."

"I thought housewives were supposed to manage family financials," Kory mused.

Rachel shook her head. "Not in my family."

"Why didn't you call the police when he came back?" Gar asked Rachel.

Rachel's face was wistful. "I couldn't. The risk was too high," she sighed.

"You should get a way to report him to the police," Vic pointed out.

"We can all help you," Gar added with a comforting grin.

"Thanks guys," Rachel smiled sadly. "But if Scath ever finds out that I'm telling you my story, he'll send me to hell."

"Don't lose hope," smiled Richard. "We'll all find a way to help you."

Before Rachel could reply, Kory's cell phone rang.

"Excuse me," Kory muttered and picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Kory, _please_ tell me you haven't gone far from school," Jenny whispered.

"Sorry… I'm at the pizza place, Jenny," Kory whispered back. "Uh… why are we whispering?"

"Darn it," Jenny mumbled, ignoring Kory's question. "You should've seen this Kory."

"Seen what?"

Jenny stood behind one of the pillars in the school yard and peeked over it. There, she saw Jade leaning on another pillar a few meters from Jenny, and she was talking to Roy.

"Let's just say Roy is going to have trouble with us tomorrow," Jenny whispered again as she returned to her hiding position.

"Jade…?" Kory questioned.

"Uh-huh," Jenny confirmed. "Roy, Jade, talking, school yard."

"I _warned_ him about her!" Kory groaned. "He knows that Jade is no good, why is he talking to her?"

"I know as a fact that Jade will also be having a problem with her friends if they found out about this," Jenny sighed.

"Jenny," Roy suddenly appeared in front of Jenny. She gasped and snapped her phone shut, quickly shoving it back to her bag.

There was a long beep before Kory realized Jenny had been caught. Sighing, Kory went back to her seat.

"Who was that?" Richard asked.

"Jenny," Kory answered. "She saw Roy talking to Jade at the school's yard."

Vic shook his head. "That boy is really falling for her."

"Roy just caught Jenny hiding on the school's yard when she saw him talking with Jade," Kory said in a low voice. "I hope she's okay…"

* * *

"What are _you_ doing in the school yard?" Roy asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Jenny lied. "I'm just taking uh… pictures for this week's news!"

"You don't have a camera with you," Roy blatantly pointed out.

"That's why… I was… using my cell phone." Jenny chuckled nervously.

"What, did _Jade_ tell you to take photographs?" Roy asked and crossed his arms.

"W-what?" Jenny stuttered. "How did you know she was in my club?"

"I just figured it out," Roy shrugged.

Jenny couldn't take it anymore.

"That's it, I'm not gonna hide anything now," Jenny growled. "What in the world were you doing with Jade?"

"Excuse me?" Roy asked in false confusion.

"You were talking to Jade. I _saw_ you two chatting there," Jenny said angrily, pointing to the spot Roy had previously been standing. "What were you thinking, Roy? Kory told you that she's one of Katie's gang, why do you expect that she'll be nice to you?"

Roy held up his hands in defense. "Alright Jen, calm down, will you?" Roy said. "I'll tell you what happened."

"Go on. Spill it, Roy," Jenny snapped and put her hands on her hips.

"I had just finished tidying up the field for the next archery class," Roy started. "I was just about to go home and was crossing the yard, when I accidentally bumped into Jade."

"Well, you could have just said 'sorry' and walked straight ahead," Jenny argued.

Roy shook his head. "I couldn't," he said. "She dropped her books. I had to help her pick them up. Then we just… had a bit of … spontaneous talk."

"What spontaneous talk?" Jenny asked, one eyebrow arched.

"Well…"

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Sorry," Roy apologized and helped Jade get __up._

"_Well, you better watch it next time," Jade snapped. She looked up and gazed upon his face. Knowing__who he was,__her expression softened. "Roy Harper, right?"_

"_That's me," Roy smiled._

"_Jade," she introduced herself. "You know me."_

"_Yeah," Roy nodded._

"_Well, I have to go, Mr. Harper," Jade smiled a little. "I really shouldn't be here."_

_Jade was about to walk away, but Roy suddenly blocked her way._

"_Hey since we're both here and uh…There's no one around… Do you want to…You know…Just…Talk?"_

"_What do you wanna talk about?" Jade asked and leaning back casually__on a pillar._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"That's not spontaneous, that's on purpose!" Jenny complained.

"No it's not!" Roy defended himself.

"She was about to walk away but you told her to stop and talk to you," Jenny shot back. "How is _that_ spontaneous?"

"Well… whatever, okay?" Roy sighed, annoyed.

* * *

_Flashback_

"_So what are you doing here?" Jade asked bluntly._

"_I just finished tidying up the field for tomorrow's archery class," Roy said._

_Jade looked to her left, then to her right. "You know your friends are gonna kill you if they found out, don't you?"_

"_Probably," Roy shrugged._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"Not '_probably' _but _'totally'_, you know that, right?" Jenny asked.

"Will you just _stop_ that?" Roy begged.

"Alright, alright," Jenny said. "Go on."

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Why would you, of all people, want to talk to me?" Jade chuckled. "I'm Katie's best friend. I'm supposed to be your enemy."_

"_I don't know," Roy mumbled. "Maybe you're… different from them."_

"_I'm not," Jade whispered. Roy looked at her with a blank expression._

"_Look," Jade sighed and got ready to walk away. "I really have to go. Kory's gonna make you suffer if she found out about this. And Katie… huh… who knows what she'll do to me."_

"_Hey wait," Roy interrupted. "Are you free__tomorrow night?"_

_For a moment, Jade was silent._

"_No," she finally answered. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, Mr. Harper._

"_Roy," he corrected._

"_Roy," Jade repeated and smiled. "Goodbye."_

_As Jade walked to the front gate, Roy continued his briefly interrupted__walk to the parking area._

_End Flashback_

* * *

"That's all," Roy said, finishing his story. "Nothing else happened. I swear."

"Well, thanks for being honest, Roy," Jenny said. "But still… You can't expect too much from her. There's little possibility that she's different from Katie _and_ Koma."

"Anything is possible, Jen," Roy insisted.

"And what were you thinking when you tried to ask her out?" Jenny asked again, ignoring Roy's words.

"Why do you even care so much about this?" Roy half-yelled to Jenny.

"Because I'm your friend, Roy, and so are the others!" Jenny shouted exasperatedly. "We don't want to lose you as our friend just because you get together with _Jade_! You should've listened to Kory."

"Before _you_ got together with Wally," Roy started. "Weren't _you_ one of the H.I.V.E.?"

Jenny stared back, her face betraying none of her emotions – although she was actually shocked inside.

"Hey," Roy said regretfully, realizing almost at once how low that blow was. He laid a comforting hand on Jenny's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No, you're right." Jenny sighed and brushed off Roy's hand. "Maybe she can change."

"If _you_ could change," Roy shrugged. "Then anyone can change."

"Except maybe Katie," Jenny chuckled. Roy laughed in amusement.

"It's getting kinda late," Roy said. "We should go home."

"Yeah," Jenny nodded. "But remember, we can't _really_ be sure if Jade can change. For the moment, you can't get too close with her."

"I won't," Roy smiled. "Promise. Now… I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Jenny said. "See ya."

They parted ways and Jenny thought about what Roy said before.

"I changed because of Wally," she muttered. "If Jade actually _likes_ Roy, maybe she'll change too."


	6. Accidents

Richard and his gang just finished hanging out at the pizza place and they decided to go home. Richard headed to his motorcycle with Kory while Vic walked towards his car. He promised to give Gar and Rachel a ride home. Gar followed Vic, but Rachel stayed on her seat.

Gar noticed that Rachel remained on her seat with a face full of worries. "You okay, Rae?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Rachel stuttered as she stood up.

"You don't sound like you're okay," Gar said. "If it's about your dad…"

"It _is_ about my dad," Rachel murmured as she absent-mindedly followed Gar to Victor's car. "I'm just… afraid."

"Hey," Gar said in a soothing tone and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're a tough girl. You'll get through it."

Rachel smiled weakly. "Thank you," she uttered.

Garfield grinned in response and opened the car's door for Rachel. Rachel was about to enter the car when a loud honk was suddenly heard. Rachel took a glance to the road and noticed that Malchior just arrived.

"Rachel," he greeted and strolled towards her. "I didn't know you were here."

"I told you I'm going to the pizza place right after class ended," Rachel stated and gave him an accusing look.

"Oh, right," Malchior chuckled nervously and took Rachel's hand, 'accidentally' shoving Gar away on the process. Gar fell to the hard pavement and seemed to hurt his arm on the process. "So, you want me to take you home or what?"

Gar stayed quiet – Malchior was Rachel's boyfriend after all. Kory and Richard walked closer to Rachel and Malchior, feeling angry at Malchior's actions towards Gar. "Well, Vic was about to give them a ride until you showed up," Kory suddenly cut in and gestured towards Rachel and Gar.

"Well I'm here now and I'm offering her a ride home," Malchior replied, rather rudely. "You got a problem with that, lady?"

Kory was ready to retort back when Richard suddenly stood next to her. "Back off, Malchior," Richard warned him as his protective side took over him.

Malchior backed away as he was told and dragged Rachel to his car. "I'll take you home, Rachel," he mumbled.

Rachel whispered a quick goodbye to her friends and entered Malchior's car. Soon, the car zoomed off from the pizza place.

"What's _his_ problem?" Vic asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know," Richard responded and helped Gar to stand up. "But I have a feeling that… that something's wrong."

"I have a bad feeling about him," Kory added. "Sure, he's cute, he's a junior, and he's rich, but that guy doesn't behave well."

"Why would Rachel go out with someone like _him_?" Gar thought out loud.

* * *

"Malchior," Rachel started. "That was rude. You shouldn't talk to Kory like that."

"She was being annoying," Malchior complained as his hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Rachel crossed her arms and glared at her boyfriend. "Well in case you've forgotten, Kory's my _best friend_," she shot back.

"Look," Malchior sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry, okay? "

"Tell that to Kory," Rachel turned to stare out the car's window, not wanting to look at Malchior.

Malchior felt cornered and finally answered, "Okay, okay, I'll tell her tomorrow!"

"Good," Rachel said and gave him a small smile.

The car stopped as they arrived in front of Rachel's house. Malchior and Rachel walked out from the car.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," Malchior said. Rachel stood in front of the gate, gazing intently at her house. She wasn't listening to Malchior at all.

"Rachel?" Malchior called out and waved his in front of her. "You okay?"

"W-what?" she stuttered as soon as she snapped out from her trance.

"You look worried," Malchior mumbled.

Rachel was speechless. Was it that obvious? Should she tell him about her dad? What if—

"You can tell me anything, you know," he said, leaning confidentially on his car.

Rachel sighed and leaned on his car as well. "My dad came home yesterday."

"…he came home? As in… here in Jump City?" Malchior stood straight and asked with a _little_ hint of surprised tone.

"Um…yeah," Rachel slowly replied, a little confused that Malchior was surprised. Why was he surprised?

Realizing that he was showing a little too much emotion, he cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I mean… so… what's wrong with that?"

Rachel gave him a suspicious look before she answered, "He's one of those bad and abusive fathers."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Malchior uttered. "Did he… um… mention anything about his company… or something?"

"…no, he didn't," Rachel answered, getting more curious by the second. Something wasn't right. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing," he quickly responded. "I have to go home now. Are you gonna be okay with your dad?"

"I'll be fine," Rachel nodded. "Be careful on the way."

"See you tomorrow, Rachel!" Malchior waved and got in to his car. Soon, he drove away from Rachel.

Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly and made a confused look. "Malchior is acting… really suspicious lately," she said to herself. "Something feels… wrong…"

She took another glimpse at her two-story house. She looked back to the streets and decided to take a walk to the park. She wasn't in the mood to see her so-called father…

* * *

Gar sat alone on the bench, glancing at his watch occasionally. He shook his legs impatiently and looked at his surroundings.

"Where is she?" he mumbled to himself.

He looked at his left and right for the zillionth time, and this time, she found someone.

"Rachel!" Gar shouted. The violet-haired girl turned her head towards the direction. Gar stood up and strolled away from his bench.

"Hey Garfield," Rachel greeted.

"Hey," Gar greeted back and flashed his toothy grin. "I thought you were already at home."

"I _was_ at home," Rachel chuckled softly. "But before I even came in my house, I got bored. So I decided to take a walk," she continued and added a small shrug.

Gar raised his eyebrows and peeked over Rachel's shoulders. "So… you're not here with Malchior?" he asked.

"No," Rachel said and shook her head. "He already went home earlier."

"Oh, I see," Gar nodded in understanding.

"So… what are you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"I was actually waiting for Tara," Gar explained with a sigh. He headed back to the bench. He sat down and Rachel sat next to him. "She said she's going to meet me here this afternoon. She should've been here an hour ago…"

"This afternoon?" Rachel confirmed. "Are you sure?"

"_Very_ sure."

"Hmmm… If I'm not mistaken," Rachel started. "I remember that Kory said something about her cheerleading practice… this afternoon."

"Huh?"

"She said she had extra practice right after school," Rachel continued. "Yeah… yeah, that's it. She said there's a cheerleading practice this afternoon. She had to go immediately right after we finished on the pizza place. Richard must've driven her there."

"Then… Why did Tara arrange a schedule to meet me the same time as her cheerleading practice?" Gar looked down, feeling betrayed.

"Maybe she forgot that there's supposed to be a practice when she asked you to meet her," Rachel suggested.

"I hope _that's_ her reason."

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything bad," Rachel supported. "She just forgot, that's all."

"Yeah, probably…" Gar frowned.

"Did you try to call her?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, but her phone isn't active."

"Well, cheerleaders deactivate their phones during practices."

"Maybe I should just go home now," Gar muttered and tried to stand up. His hands pressed to the seat to help him stand up, but his arms ached during the process. Gar couldn't help but let out a soft whimper.

Rachel heard his whimper and stood up, too. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," Gar assured her and rubbed his arm softly.

"Does it hurt?" Rachel asked and eyed his arm carefully.

"Just a little bruise when I got pushed down earlier," Gar chuckled and continued rubbing his arm as he winced a little. "But I'll be fine. I can take care of it at home."

"I'm sure Malchior didn't mean to do it," Rachel whispered and trailed her fingers softly over Garfield's arm. "I'm sorry."

"Accidents happen, no need to apologize," Gar laughed. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Rae."

"That's _Rachel_ to you, Mister," Rachel said, glaring at Gar.

"Yes, Rachel," Gar chuckled and walked away.

Rachel shook her head and headed to her own way towards home.


	7. Decisions

Jenny sat on the table with Wally, waiting for their dinner. The five-star restaurant looked very elegant and fancy. The couple were discussing about what happened earlier with Roy and Jade.

"What does he see in her?" Wally shook his head. "I mean… she's pretty and all, but… her attitudes are as bad as Katie's."

"That's what I told him," Jenny groaned in frustration.

"He is _so_ stubborn sometimes."

Jenny suddenly remembered what Roy has said about Wally and her. Roy was so sure that Jade could change like Jenny did.

"Wally," she spoke softly. "I… I was… one of the H.I.V.E. and… when I met you… I suddenly know what's right and what's not. I changed… Do you think the same thing could happen to Jade?"

"I don't know," Wally whispered back. "Different people make different choices."

Jenny bit her lower lip softly. "I know what you mean," Jenny uttered. "But… I was one of the H.I.V.E. and I was one of your enemies… What makes you think that I deserve to be… your girlfriend?"

"Jenny, why are you _suddenly_ asking all this?"

"I'm sorry… it's just that… the way Roy really wanted to be with Jade and they are on different sides makes me remember the way I really wanted to be with you when we were on different sides."

"You _left_ the H.I.V.E. and you trusted me. You _deserve_ to be my girlfriend because you changed and we love each other." Wally explained.

"I just feel bad for Roy and Jade. I never… _We all_ never gave them any chance to try and work it out. We could make our relationship work before, so… maybe…"

"You think Roy and Jade should be together?" Wally interrupted.

"Well… not exactly that way… but that's my basic idea," Jenny said finally.

"Anyone can change," Wally said, smiling weakly.

"That's what Roy said, too," Jenny muttered but returned his smile.

* * *

Richard and Kory were at the new-built carnival, riding various rides and enjoying the starry night.

"Wow," Kory chuckled. "This place is amazing. It's different from any other carnival I've been to."

"Yeah, it _is_ different," Richard agreed, looking around. "They have those typical rides, but the environment is just… different."

"It feels really fresh here," Kory said as she inhaled deeply. "Nothing's better than a cool, refreshing night."

Richard smiled as she kept on walking with his beloved girlfriend. A few moments later, they arrived near the Ferris wheel.

"You wanna ride the Ferris wheel?" Richard offered.

"Sure!" Kory replied in excitement. Before Richard could speak, Kory's cell phone rang. She took it out from her purse and looked at the caller ID.

"Jenny," she muttered. "Richard, I have to take this call. It'll just take a minute."

"I'll take care of the tickets for the ride," Richard said and walked towards the counter. Kory nodded and answered the call.

"Hey Jen," she greeted.

"Kory," Jenny said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Well, I'm on a date with Richard at the carnival right now," Kory chuckled. "But he's taking care of tickets for our Ferris wheel ride. I can spare a few minutes to talk."

"You're at the new carnival?" Jenny asked in excitement. "I am _so_ jealous! Every time Wally takes me out on a date, he would most likely take me to a dinner or something like that."

"You should get him to bring you here, then! It's a lot of fun!" Kory exclaimed. "Anyway… why are you calling?"

"Remember when I caught Roy talking to Jade this afternoon?"

"Yeah… Were you caught by Jade?"

"No, Roy caught me," Jenny chuckled. "Wally and I decided that… maybe… we can all give him a chance to get close or… just interact with Jade."

After a few moments of silence, Kory suddenly laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm serious," Jenny said.

"What makes you think that Roy and Jade would make a good couple?"

Kory could sense Jenny hesitating on the other side of the line. "Well… I was reminded that Wally and I used to be on different sides, but in the end we successfully build our relationship. I left the H.I.V.E. and changed – I realize that being with the H.I.V.E. was a mistake."

Kory pursed her lips. "And you think Jade would stop being friends with Katie, change into a good girl, and build a good relationship with Roy?"

"…something like that."

Kory sighed heavily. "I don't know, Jen… I mean… Your case was different with Jade's."

"I don't see any difference there."

"I'm just worried that Roy will regret his decision if he decides to hook up with Jade."

"Everyone was worried about Wally when he told them about me at first," Jenny shot back. "All I'm saying is that there's no harm in giving them a chance. If things work out well between them, then it's all good. If things don't work out well, we just need to get Roy to forget about Jade."

"It's not going to be easy…" Kory mumbled.

"Let's just talk to Roy tomorrow, okay?"

Kory closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled and snapped her eyes back open. "Fine. We'll talk to him tomorrow."

"Thanks for understanding, Kory," Jenny said softly. "You're a great friend."

"Yeah… sure…" Kory muttered. "Later, Jen."

Kory ended the call and moaned in frustration, just in time when Richard came back after he paid for the Ferris wheel ride.

"You okay, Kory?" Richard whispered and draped his arms around her shoulders.

"No… I'm not okay…"

Richard sensed her worries and sadness. "Come on," he said and led her to the Ferris wheel. They got in and the Ferris wheel started to move, but Kory's face isn't showing excitement at all.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Richard asked softly.

"Jenny called and told me to give Roy a chance with Jade," Kory said flatly.

"Was it because of her history with Wally?" Richard guessed.

Kory's face showed a slightly shocked expression. "How did you know?"

"I saw it coming. I knew something like this was gonna happen," Richard admitted.

Kory sighed. "I _really_ don't know what to do, Richard. Everything is just so confusing lately," she said in a shaky voice. "Roy is chasing Jade, Jenny is suddenly telling me what to do with Roy, and…"

"Hey, it's okay…" Richard whispered and hugged her. "You still have me, alright? Everything is gonna be okay… I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you, Richard," she whispered and hugged him back. "Thank you…"


	8. Crossing Over

"Okay, enough with the suspense," Roy said to his friends at the table. "What do you guys want from me?"

"We wanna talk about Jade," Jenny said slowly.

"…What about Jade?"

"We're going to tell you something, but you better not get all hyped up about it, okay?" Karen said.

Roy immediately nodded, eager to get whatever this was over with.

"Well… we're your friends, Roy," Kory started. "We're your best friends, and we always want the best for you."

"And…?"

"And you know that we disagreed with the idea of you and Jade being together at the first place, don't you?" Kory asked.

"Kory, please," he pleaded. "Just get to the point, you're killing me with the suspense!"

Kory took a deep breath. "We... Decided to..." Kory stopped, glanced uncertainly, and let it out in one quick breath, "We decided to give you and Jade a chance to get to know each other and maybe get together!"

"…really?" Roy beamed.

"You actually understood that?" said an incredulous Jenny, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm not slow, you know," Roy said. "But… are you guys serious?"

"…Yes," Kory exhaled.

Roy, still smiling, got up, walked over to Kory and gave her a big hug. Kory smiled and hugged him back.

"Thank you," he said, letting go of Kory. "Thanks, guys. Really."

The girls simply nodded as Roy ran to Jade's table at the cafeteria.

Karen and Jenny turned to Kory, whose smile had faded into a worried frown.

"You okay, girl?" Jenny whispered.

Kory forced herself to smile. "I'm okay," she whispered back. She immediately walked away and looked for Rachel.

* * *

"Oh God," Tara muttered.

"Tara," Rachel groaned. "How could you forget that you had a _date_ with Gar?"

"I am _so_ sorry…" she answered.

Rachel shook her head. "No, don't apologize to _me_," Rachel said. "Apologize to your green-haired boyfriend."

"I can't," Tara complained. "He'll be mad at me. He'll dump me!"

"Now, Tara…"

"My life is going to be ruined!" she screamed and shook Rachel. "Rae, _please_ help me."

"What can _I _do?" Rachel asked. "I don't know anything about your relationship with him, and all I know is that you forgot that you had a date with him just because you had cheerleader practice that day."

"But _please_…?" Tara pleaded.

Rachel was quiet for a moment before sighing, "Fine. But you owe me one."

"Yes! Thank you, Rachel!" Tara exclaimed. "Now let's go find Gar."

Tara dragged Rachel out from the gym to find Gar. They headed for the cafeteria and finally met Gar.

"Hey Gar," Rachel said, her arm still linked to Tara. Tara just smiled.

"Hey Rae," he grinned. He looked to Rachel's right and spotted Tara standing there. His voice lost most of its flippancy. "Oh. Hey Tara."

"Tara here wants to say something," Rachel immediately said. She forcefully released her arm from Tara's grip and walked away.

"Rae, wait!" Tara screamed. Rachel ignored her and kept on walking, not looking back for even a moment. Gar looked at Tara in confusion.

"Uh…" Tara tried to start.

"I'm listening," Gar said in a rather discouraging voice, crossing his arms.

"I… just want to apologize," she finally said. "I should've remembered that we were supposed to have a date yesterday."

"And you didn't come because…?"

"I had to arrange a cheerleading practice for the football game tomorrow," Tara explained. "And I… kinda… forgot that I was supposed to meet you up at the park."

Gar only gave her another scowl.

"I am _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to forget, honest!" Tara practically begged.

Eventually, Gar sighed and decided to let it go. "It's okay, Tara," he finally said. "Just… don't let it happen again."

"I promise," Tara smiled.

Gar smiled a little in return and let Tara wrap her arms around him.

"Thank you," she muttered. She ended her hug and stepped back a little. "I have to make it up to you. Do you want to go somewhere this afternoon?"

"…maybe not today, Tara," Gar said after a few moments of hesitation. "My schedule is pretty tight this week."

"Oh, I see," Tara mumbled, her smile fading away.

"But we'll schedule a date together next week, 'kay?" Gar said, trying to cheer her up.

Tara nodded plainly in confirmation. "I'll see you later, Gar," she said and waved goodbye. Gar waved back as Tara left the cafeteria.

* * *

Roy arrived at Jade's table, and he was just in time. Katie and the others were already leaving the table, but luckily, Roy got the chance to grab Jade's hand and pulled her away. Katie and the rest of the group strolled away without realizing that Jade weren't with them.

"Hey!" Jade complained.

"Sorry about that," Roy said softly. "I gotta talk to you. It's… important."

"Alright," Jade crossed her arms. "What is it?"

Roy took a deep breath and said, "Well… I'm about to make… a confession."

"And…?"

"I have searched through my mind and discussed about this to my friends, and soon I came to a realization that…"

"That you like me," Jade finished his sentence.

"…Yes, I… Yes." Roy said the only word he could say.

Jade smiled a little. "Lucky for you, Mr. Harper, I happen to have a… _similar_… feeling lately."

"And yet I never see any sign of that before," Roy chuckled. "Did you mean that?"

"Yes," Jade whispered and scooted closer to him. "Yes I did."

The school bell rang and shattered their moment. Both of them stepped away in surprise.

"I-I gotta go," Jade mumbled quickly. "If Katie finds out…"

"I know," Roy sighed. "Hey, can I… have your number? Please?"

"Sure," Jade smiled. Roy offered his phone and Jade texted her number in. "_Now_ I really have to go. Katie's gonna be looking for me."

"I'll call you later!" Roy shouted and waved.

"And I'll be waiting!" Jade replied before she turned from Roy and ran.

Roy smiled to himself and looked down at his phone. Finally he got what he wants.

"Jade Nguyen," he muttered and walked away to his next class.


	9. Principal Slade Wilson Part 1

Roythrew himself on his bed with his phone on his grip. Smiling, he dialed Jade's number and waited for her to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Jade," Roygreeted excitedly. "It's me…"

"Roy," Jade replied and smirked to herself. "I can recognize that voice anywhere."

"Glad to know," Roychuckled. "So… what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Jade bluntly said.

"So… After today," Roysaid nervously. "Are we… Can you say that… We're together?"

"Yeah," Jade answered with the same nervous tone. "I guess so."

"Did you tell Katie? About us?"

"I…" Jade stuttered. "No… N-not yet."

Roy frowned. He knew they couldn't keep this as a secret forever. "Then… when are you going to?"

"When I'm ready," Jade sighed.

"Well… Just letting you know that I got permission from my friends."

"You… told them?" Jade asked with a hint of surprise.

"No, not directly," Roy said immediately. "They found out that I liked you, and they went against that fact at first. But now, they give me support for this decision."

"That's… great," Jade sighed. "We can't expect Katie to do the same, if that's what you were thinking."

Roy sighed in frustration. "Katie isn't…"

"We'll have to keep this as a secret," Jade interrupted Roy. "You can't tell anyone else. You can trust your friends, but _don't_ tell anyone else."

Roy didn't agree immediately. "If we can't show our relationship in public, how can we even have a relationship?"

"This is the only way we can make it work."

Roy closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.

"You're right," Roy finally said. "It _is_ the only way we can make it work."

"Thank you," Jade sighed. "I… I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, good night."

"Night," Jade smiled and hung up. She sighed again and sunk her head to her palms. "Katie _will_ know, sooner or later. What can _I _do?"

* * *

Jenny entered the journalists' club room. Jade was already giving the members a brief speech when she got in.

"You're late," Jade said coldly.

"Sorry, got caught up with math," Jenny replied as she pulled out her papers. "Here's for this week."

Jade took them and flipped through the pages. She raised her eyebrows at the results of Jenny's article. "Hm. Not bad."

Jenny displayed a small smile in satisfaction.

"Now get to your seat, we're discussing a hot topic to write for this week's edition," Jade said as she put away the papers.

"Hot?" Jenny asked as she went to her seat. "How hot?"

"Smokin' hot," Jade replied. "Some of us heard that our current principal is going to be replaced."

"And most of our current teachers, too," another member added.

Jenny couldn't hide her surprise. "What? How? Why?"

"That is for us to find out, and for the whole school to read," Jade answered. "But so far, we've got an important detail that can help us."

"What's that?"

"We already know who's going to be the next principal," Jade replied and took out a picture. She held it up for everyone in the room to see. "His name… is Slade Wilson."

* * *

Jenny and Wally were at the usual pizza place with Richard, Kory, and Rachel. The day had been very exhausting, and they were all supposed to be busy, but these four decided to relax after the long day they went through.

"So…" Wally started as he bit the edge of his pizza. "Where's Malchior?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel answered. "I didn't see him today. I tried hundreds of times to find a phone and call him but he didn't pick up."

"Find a phone…?"

"My father took mine," Rachel said sourly.

Richard cocked an eyebrow. "Malchior is your boyfriend."

"We're not really that much of a couple lately," Rachel shrugged. "You know how junior high is. Maybe he's just busy."

"And you're just cool with that?"

"How else am I supposed to feel?"

"I know I'd cut Wally's head off if he cheated on me," Jenny said with a smirk.

"Yeah, and… Hey!" Wally complained.

"How do you know he's cheating on me?" Rachel said with a hint of anger. "He won't do that to me."

"It was just an example," Jenny defended herself.

Rachel calmed down. "I trust him. And you guys should too."

"Try to call him again later, Rachel," Kory suggested. "You're not in a healthy relationship condition."

"We're fine. He's just busy," Rachel said with a small frown, mostly to herself.

Jenny immediately saw her face and felt guilty. She shouldn't have brought it up, not with Rachel's condition with her father at that time. "So uh… Are Roy and Jade working out good?"

Richard shrugged. "They just got together, I don't think that there's much we can say about their relationship now."

"We did the right thing… didn't we?" Kory asked hesitantly.

"We did," Wally nodded. "We have to trust that she can change."

"What if she doesn't?"

"Well, so far, I think she's not that bad," Jenny said with a small smile. "I know she hangs out a lot with Katie, but she's not as bad as Katie."

"What makes you say that?"

"I gave her my articles and she actually likes it," she answered, smiling proudly. "No sharp comments, no 'constructive criticism', no nothing."

"That's because I helped you with all your articles," Rachel said with a small laugh.

"Hey, I worked on most of it," Jenny replied and sipped her drink. "Why didn't you join in the club?"

"I was about to," Rachel explained. "Until I found out Jade was leading it. How did she even get that position?"

Jenny shrugged.

Wally finished his last bite and spoke up, "Hey, Jenny said there's a rumor going around that we're getting a new principal."

Richard, Rachel, and Kory almost choked on their pizzas. "Say what?" Richard blurted out.

"That's what I thought, too."

"How? And why?" Kory asked.

"That's for me to write and for Jade to put on the newsletters," Jenny said with a soft sigh. "How am I going to find out all that?"

"Do you know who he is?" Rachel asked.

Jenny nodded. "Jade told me his name is… Slade Wilson, if I'm correct."

Richard blinked. "Who was that again?"

"Slade… Wilson," Jenny repeated and gave him a strange look. "You know that guy?"

"I'm not sure if it's the same person, but…" Richard mumbled. "Do you have any pictures?"

Jenny reached for her bag and began searching. "Jade gave me a copy of it… here."

Richard took the picture and examined it carefully. The man was a little bit old. His hair was a mix of grey and white, but he looked strong and his face looked stern. "Yup, that's him."

"Who?"

"Slade Wilson," he explained. "He used to own a huge company in Gotham and became Wayne Enterprise's greatest rival. He's kind of a jerk, if you ask me."

"So you know him," Kory said.

"Why would he give away the position of a CEO to a position of… a teacher?"

"From a CEO to a principal… that's quite a big jump, don't you think?" Rachel asked.

"More of a freefall," Richard mumbled. "He's a very ambitious man. If he wants something, he makes sure he gets it, no matter what it takes. And that usually leads to taking illegal actions."

"So… he was fired?" Wally asked, still puzzled about the "freefall".

"It's been months since I've heard of him… Maybe Bruce knows something about this," Richard said as he folded the picture and slipped it into his pocket. "You can come over if you want, Jen."

"That'd be great," Jenny said with a grin. "Thanks."

* * *

"Bruce, I'm home," Richard shouted as he threw his backpack to his sofa. Jenny followed behind him, still astonished by Richard's elegant and luxurious mansion.

"Wow," she mumbled. "Richard John Dick Grayson, this is one heck of a mansion you have here."

"Thank you," Richard said with a smirk. "Where the heck is-"

"Master Bruce is not home yet," a voice with British accent replied. Jenny turned to see an elderly man entering the room.

"Ah, we have a guest."

"Yes, Alfred," Richard replied. "She and I'll be waiting for Bruce. I heard Slade Wilson's our next principal and…"

"That Slade Wilson? Sitting around in an office doing nothing in that company of his must have been too boring for him," Alfred said before turning to Jenny. "Welcome to Wayne's Manor, Ms…?"

"Jennifer," Jenny said with a smile. "But you can call me Jenny."

"Well, Ms. Jenny," Alfred said and returned the smile. "I hope you enjoy your stay. I will prepare refreshments for both of you."

Richard grinned. "Thanks, Alfred."

Alfred nodded and made his way to the kitchen.

"Slade Wilson," Richard mumbled as he sat down. "I don't like it."

"You seem to know much about this man," Jenny answered, sitting in front of him.

"Yeah, but not that much. Bruce knows more. Let's just hope he can give us enough information," Richard sighed.


	10. Principal Slade Wilson Part 2

"Slade Wilson?" Bruce asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, Slade Wilson," Jenny repeated. "Do you know anything about him?"

"He used to own a company back in Gotham," Bruce explained. "It was huge. And rich. Almost as rich as Wayne Enterprises."

"His company is our company's greatest rival," Richard added. "And hearing the word that he's gonna be the boss of me, I don't like it."

Jenny nodded as she took notes. "What happened to the company?"

"Bankruptcy," Bruce said simply. "He didn't run the company well, so the company closed down. He was good at first, but he became too ambitious. If I heard right, the company's outcome was bigger than its income, which resulted in economic failure. That was two months ago."

Richard laughed. "Bruce, how come I never heard anything about that?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Try reading the news instead of comics."

"Do you know how he could get in to teacher business in JCH?" Jenny continued.

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything about that part," Bruce apologized. "But if I find out anything about it, you'll be the first person to hear it."

Jenny smiled and stood up. "Thank you so much, Mr. Wayne. You saved my life."

"That important?" Bruce said with a chuckle.

"You have no idea. My boss is a killer," Jenny said with an annoyed sigh. "I'll be heading home now, it's kinda late... Thank you again, sir."

"No problem," Bruce answered. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

"No thanks," she replied. "I already have plans with my boyfriend."

"Ah, got it," Bruce said with a small laugh. "Be careful on the way home."

Jenny nodded. "I will. Thanks again, Richard! See ya at school tomorrow."

"Anytime, Jen," Richard replied and waved to her. "Bye!"

* * *

Katie knocked on the door and waited. A few seconds later, Jade opened the door.

"Katie?"

Katie smirked and welcomed herself in. "Hope you don't mind having a little company."

"You should've called, girl," Jade answered with a smile and slammed the door close.

"Are your parents out?" Katie asked as she climbed upstairs with Jade behind her.

"Yup. They're out of town. We have the whole place for ourselves," Jade answered with a grin.

They entered Jade's room and slammed the door shut.

"Perfect," Katie said as she flopped on to Jade's bed. "So who's the new principal again?"

"Slade Wilson," she said. "Never heard of him, but I got Jenny to search for information."

Katie laughed in disgust. "Jenny?"

"It's journalistic business," Jade said with a shrug.

"So you're in one club with one of Kory's so-called friends," Katie said. "What a perfect opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?"

Katie gave her a strange look. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Um…"

Katie sighed. "Don't tell me you're friends with her now…"

"I'm not!" Jade immediately shouted. "I swear I'm not!"

Katie cocked an eyebrow.

"A girl like that is way off my standards," Jade continued. "You and I both know that."

"I know that," Katie answered. "Do you?"

Jade's temper rose. "If you have a point, Katie, get to it."

"Jade, darling, relax," Katie said with a laugh. "What has gotten into you?"

Jade looked down.

"As I was saying," Katie continued as flopped her feet to the pillows. "It's an opportunity. You're just the person who can help me get back what I deserve."

"What do you mean?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

"What Kory did to me? You can help me return her favor," Katie mumbled, a sly smile spreading on her face.

Jade returned the smile. "Now you're getting interesting."

* * *

Jenny could see Jade's eyes widened slightly in astonishment. Jenny smiled – she was sure shedid a good job.

"Hm," Jade nodded. "Not bad, kid."

"Thank you."

"But I'm not sure if I'm going to put it in," Jade continued. "It lacks details."

Jenny was almost speechless. "Lacks details? Are you kidding me? How many other writers can you find around here that actually knows this?"

Jenny ignored her question and handed the paper back to Jenny. "You're missing the important point here. Why is this happening? What's wrong with our teachers now and how is it possible that Slade Wilson gets a position here?"

Now Jenny was speechless.

"If you're just going to babble about his background story, I'll suppose I'll give this assignment to someone else…"

"No no no! Wait!" Jenny said immediately. "I'll fix it. I promise I'll fix it. I'll get details and everything else you want me to…"

"He's going to be our principal tomorrow, Jenny, we don't have time to fix all this."

Jenny cocked an eyebrow. "But you were going to give it to someone else, and that's going to take more time…"

"Not if they're better than you," Jade said coldly.

Jenny looked down. "Look, just…for once…give me a chance. I'll do it right. I need to prove myself that I can write an article that's actually good and useful."

"Well… Fine," Jade muttered. "Three days. Not more."

Jenny beamed and took the paper. "Thanks, Jade."

Jade nodded in reply and went back to her laptop. Jenny went out of the room, with Kory and Rachel waiting outside.

"So?" Rachel asked.

"So, it's not that good, and I have to fix all this in three days," Jenny sighed.

"But he's moving in tomorrow," Kory said.

"I insisted Jade to give me a chance," Jenny said with a shrug. "Besides, with more time given after he's our principal, there's going to be so much more to tell in the article."

"True," Rachel answered with a nod. "So I guess you might've jumped the gun when you said she was 'kinda' nice."

"Yeah, now she's out with the criticism…" Jenny muttered. "But enough about me. How are you guys doing?"

"The cheerleading team and I are preparing ourselves for the pep rally," Kory said with a grin. "I'm actually excited!"

Rachel looked at her watch. "Uh, Kory… I thought the practice was supposed to be ten minutes ago…"

Kory blinked and realized that she was late. "Crud," she muttered and started running. "See you guys at lunch!"

"Same old Kory," Jenny chuckled. "How about you, are things going okay?"

"Well… Yeah, I suppose," Rachel answered with shrug. "Just the usual."

"What about your dad?"

"Let's just say that it's all homework and house-cleaning stuff for me," Rachel said with a sad smile.

Jenny set her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "If there's anything we can do to help…"

"I appreciate that, but you know what my answer will be," Rachel said with a chuckle.

Jenny smiled. "Well, if you ever need anything, you know what to do."

* * *

It was a big day for Jump City High today. The assembly hall was crowded and the students are getting their new principal today. Jenny sat on the front row, holding a notebook and a pencil on her hands. The others were sitting a few rows behind her and chatted while waiting for their new principal.

"Slade Wilson's going to be my teacher," Richard mumbled and laughed in irony. "Wow."

"What's the deal with that guy, anyway?" Vic asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Trust me, he's not the teacher type."

"So before JCH principal, what was he?" Karen asked.

"CEO of a company in Gotham. His company bankrupted and he was fired. So, here he is," Richard explained.

"Now that's a big jump," Gar commented.

"I'd rather call it a fall," Richard said with shrug.

"And what does a CEO knows about teaching?"

"I'm asking the same question," Richard muttered. "If I'm right, he used to be in the military once."

"From a soldier to a CEO to a principal?" Vic questioned. "What do you call that?"

"Nuts," Gar answered.

There was a loud screech from the microphone and everyone's attention was directed towards the center of the room. One of the teachers stepped forward and spoke up, "Good afternoon, students and teachers of Jump City High. As you all know, today is a very big day for our school. We have a new principal for Jump City High, ready to bring this school to a new, brighter future."

Richard snorted. "New, brighter future…"

"Please welcome our new Jump City High principal," the teacher finally announced. "Mr. Slade Wilson!"

A round of applause echoed around the room as the said man entered the location. He was exactly like the person in Jenny's picture – white and gray hair, stern face, and a well-built body.

"Thank you," his voice said on the microphone. "Students and teachers of Jump City High, I thank you all for this wonderful opportunity. It is an honor to work here as the principal of the school, as it gives me a chance to bring the education in Jump City forward and a chance for me to have a great experience with students and teachers in this school."

"Psh," Richard muttered. "I cannot believe this guy."

After a few minutes, Slade ended his speech. "…And to bring Jump City High to a brighter future. Thank you."

Another round of applause was heard, but Richard rolled his eyes. Slade glanced around the room and found a familiar figure.

"Richard Grayson," he muttered.

Richard seemed to be looking back. Slade gave him a knowing smirk but Richard simply glared at him and looked away afterwards.

"You look like you know him well," Karen muttered.

"That's because I do," Richard mumbled in reply. "And I won't like the way things are around here anymore."


	11. Food Fight

The bell rang and students scattered out from their classes, getting ready for lunch. Roy went to his locker and dumped in all the books he was holding.

A familiar voice was heard among the crowd. He turned to see Jade in the distance, walking out of her class. He smiled and was ready to greet when Katie and the others got out, catching up with her.

Roy stopped himself from any further moves. Exhaling, he turned back to his locker. "It's the only way to make it work," he reminded himself. "The only way…to make it work."

"Hey," Jade greeted with a smile. "Who're you talking to?"

"Huh, what?" Roy stuttered and twirled around. "Jade! Uh…nobody. Just…uh…me…?"

Jade's smile widened as she shook her head.

"I thought you were with Katie…?"

"They went for lunch and I told them I'd catch up."

"Nice escape," Roy said with a smirk. "So how bout we get ourselves some lunch?"

Jade sighed. "Roy…"

"If this is about…about…publicity," Roy started.

"We can have a relationship without it," Jade insisted.

"We can't keep this up forever," he argued. "She'll know, sooner or later. Some people have seen us together, Jade. It's only a matter of time."

"I know, but…"

"What are you afraid of?" he asked softly.

Jade looked down. "It's not going to be good news for Katie. Your friends aren't a hundred percent okay with this either, you and I both know that."

Roy frowned. "They gave me a chance, Jade."

"You honestly…think that they're complete alright with that?"

Roy didn't answer. They both knew she was right.

"It's hard, Roy. It really is."

"Don't you think we can work it out?"

"How?" she whispered. "We're practically two people from two groups of enemies and…"

"Please don't say that," Roy pleaded. "I don't care about your gang. I don't care if you always stick around with Katie."

Jade gave him a look. "I know you didn't mean that."

"…I just thought you might be different."

"That's what you're trying to prove?" she questioned. "That I'm different?"

Roy looked away.

"But Roy…what if I'm not?" she said softly.

"You are," Roy insisted.

"How do you know that?"

"I…I don't, okay? I don't," he almost shouted. "I just…I just feel that, I don't…"

"I am who I am Roy," she said. "I hope you understand that."

After a moment, he replied softly, "I do."

Jade smiled a little and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be at the cafeteria, okay?"

Roy forced himself to smile back and nodded. He stood there, watched her leave, and sighed again. In frustration, he slammed shut the opened locker door and was suddenly replaced by a standing figure of Karen, which caused Roy to yelp in surprise.

"Sorry if I scared you," Karen said with a smirk.

"Dude," Roy said after calming himself down. "Don't you ever do that again."

Garth came over and whispered, "We…saw all that."

"…So?"

Karen placed her hand on his shoulder. "Roy, this… This is your life. The choices are yours to make. You have the right to decide… not us."

Roy sighed. "What if she's not different? What if I can't change her?"

Karen shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't have to be different. Maybe you don't have to change her.

"That's not gonna work out," Roy laughed. "That's not going to be acceptable for you. For Kory. For Katie. For everyone else."

"We just want you to be happy, Roy," Garth supported. "Like Karen said, the choices are yours to make."

"I know," he said. "Thank you."

Karen smiled and encircled her arms around the two boys' shoulders. "Now how bout we get ourselves some lunch?"

Roy smiled back. "Sounds good."

* * *

The crew was sitting in a table at the cafeteria, discussing the pep rally and the upcoming football season.

"I don't think this is all of us," Gar said as he examined the table and picked up a piece of tofu with his spoon.

"Kory and Tara are on practice with Vic for the pep rally," Richard said. "I'm not sure about Malchior…"

He looked over to Rachel, but she didn't seem to care.

"Who are we up against this time?" Garfield asked, while chewing tofu in his mouth.

"SC High," Richard replied, shifting his attention away from Rachel.

"Star City? I heard their football team is pretty good," Wally said.

"But not as good as JC's," Karen said with a smirk. "Vic's gonna take 'em down for sure."

"Yeah, he's good," Garth chuckled.

"But I've seen their team playing when I was still in SC," Roy said. "They're tough. Really tough."

"Well we're gonna be tougher than tough," Gar said with a grin. He then spotted Rachel who was still staring at her food, unaware of the conversation. "…Right Rae?"

She was still not moving.

Richard cocked an eyebrow. "Rachel?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," Rachel stuttered.

"You zoned out pretty bad, there," Richard said seriously.

Rachel smiled. "I'm fine."

"I wouldn't call staring at food 'fine'," Karen said.

"Must be pretty bad, huh?" Jenny mumbled.

"We can help you, Rachel," Roy supported.

"No, you can't."

"Rachel," Richard insisted.

"You don't know how dangerous he is," Rachel argued. "He's a criminal on the loose. He was sentenced for 20 years in jail for family abuse. Turns out he escaped on the third."

"The more reason we can't let you just… stay and live with him," Richard answered.

Rachel stared back at her lunch in reply.

Suddenly, Garfield beamed and shouted, "Ooh! Ooh! I know what'll cheer you up!"

He grabbed his spoon and held it in an upright position. He scooped a large piece of tofu with his hand and placed it on top of the standing spoon. It was surprisingly solid enough to stay there.

"Keep your eyes on the tofu," he instructed.

He moved the spoon and the tofu on top of it to his outstretched palm of his left hand. With concentration and focus – or something that seemed like it – he released the grip, and in a silly way, tried to steady the spoon on his palm.

Rachel suppressed an amused smile while the others gave Gar a strange look – half in the same amusement and half in awe.

The tofu wiggled on top of the standing spoon, and Gar was still trying to hold it steady. But the movements made the tofu wiggle even harder, and it was harder for Gar to keep the stability.

"He's losing it, he's losing it…!" Wally said in suspense.

"Garfield Logan," Rachel warned him.

"Dude," Richard said. "He's losing it."

Gar was still desperately trying to stabilize the spoon. "Dude, stop it! I'm trying to keep it steady!"

And as soon as he finished his sentence, he lost it.

The tofu wiggled out of its place and crash landed on Rachel's lunch, splashing the food to her clothes… and face.

"Oops," Gar squeaked.

In panic, Rachel accidentally knocked her drink to the floor, spilling all its content to the floor. Kory was walking towards the table with her lunch, completely unaware of the mess around the table.

"Kory, no…!" Gar warned her.

Before her mind could process what was happening, she slipped on the drink and fell to the floor. Her lunch tray flung from her hands and landed back with a loud splat…

…but it didn't land on the floor.

Everyone on the cafeteria froze when a loud, high-pitched shriek was heard.

"KORIANNA ANDERS!"

Kory turned to see Katie standing behind her, with red, steaming face, and all covered in Kory's lunch.

'Oh,' she thought while holding back the urge to laugh. 'So that's where it landed.'

"You. Ruined. MY. OUTFIT!" Katie screamed.

Kory got up, almost failing in the attempt of suppressing her laugh. "Oops," she apologized sweetly. "My bad."

Katie could feel her blood boil. With a frustrated scream, she dumped her own lunch tray all over Kory's cheerleading suit, earning a surprised look from Kory. She knew Katie would be angry, but she didn't expect a comeback.

In return, she snatched Gar's lunch tray, full of tofu, and threw it to Katie's face.

She was just as furious as Katie was.

Again, Katie screamed, and this time, she slipped on the drink and fell on her tofu-covered face.

Topping it all off, a boy on the corner of the cafeteria shouted, "FOOD FIGHT!"

Within seconds, the crowd were screaming and shouting wildly with plates and lunch trays flying all over the cafeteria.

Rachel and Garfield were hiding under the table with the rest of the crew… excluding Wally and Roy who were apparently joining the food fight.

Rachel threw Gar a glare.

"…Don't gimme that look!" Gar defended himself. "I was just trying to cheer you up!"

"Well that's a wrong way of doing it," Rachel said, crossing her arms.

Gar scowled. "Well you were the one staring at broccolis in the first place."

Jenny, who had been listening to their conversation, rolled her eyes. "Look at how much trouble a bunch of tofu could do."

"Tell me about it," Karen agreed. "Wally and Roy are gonna smell like fish for a whole week."

Kory was about to join in their hiding place when Katie grabbed her leg and tried to pull her down to the floor. But Richard appeared and saved her before she fell, and in addition, he gave her face another platter of tofu.

Katie shrieked again, "You two are gonna PAY for this!"

Richard snorted and led Kory under the table. He took a napkin and wiped the food off her shirt.

"Nice move," she complimented him with a smirk.

Richard smirked back. "You too."

"See, there's a good side to a food fight," Gar defended himself again. "And a good side of tofu."

After a few minutes, the crowd seemed to have ran out of food as the noise faded and no more food were flung around the cafeteria.

"Looks like we're done," Richard whispered as he went out from the hiding place with his friends.

They all looked up and saw Mr. Wilson standing at the cafeteria door with a fierce look on his face.

"None of you may leave the cafeteria until this place is spick and span," he announced. "NONE."

He exited the cafeteria, leaving all the students in silence. Rachel and the others shot Garfield a glare.

His shoulders slumped down. "Oh, crud."


End file.
